How to Guide Reaming a Hole

Overview

Know what size you want your final hole to be.

Reaming is usually done in material at least 0.250" thick.

Reams will make the hole very close (+/- 0.003")

Drills will NOT. They wont even make the hole round or straight.

Drill the hole to 1/64" under what the final size should be.

 Example:  I want a 0.500" hole.  
 I will drill the hole out to 31/64"

Once you have the correct hole figured out proceed:

Once the undersized hole is drilled, insert the ream in the mill collet.
DO NOT use a drill chuck, or else you lose all hopes of a straight, round hole.
Turn the mill to LOW SPEED!!!
You cannot ream above 100 rpm!!!
Line up the hole and slowly plunge the spinning ream into the undersized hole.
Keep the operation flooded with as much cutting oil as possible to improve surface finish.
The Ream cannot remove a large amount of material, but will accurately remove a small amount of hole area.

If you have any questions, ask Brian, Jevawn, or Roman.